Microsoft Will Cut 18,000 Jobs By March 31, 2015

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has announced to employees plans to cut 18,000 jobs this year. The first 13,000 cuts will come in the next six months, with 12,500 coming from the newly acquired Nokia Devices and Services operations.

Microsoft’s plans across the company are to reduce management layers, including what Nadella calls “sideways.” We take this to mean that there will be operational mergers streamlined under fewer managers.

“My promise to you is that we will go through this process in the most thoughtful and transparent way possible,” Nadella writes. “We will offer severance to all employees impacted by these changes, as well as job transition help in many locations, and everyone can expect to be treated with the respect they deserve for their contributions to this company.”

Our TakeMicrosoft has great need to streamline operations after its staff rolls swelled by 33 percent with the Nokia acquisition. It makes sense that the majority of cuts will come first from divisions directly impacted by the operational merger.

This doesn’t mean that employees in other divisions (like Xbox, productivity, and cloud) aren’t going to be impacted. Those reductions would come at a later date and likely be less severe.

That is a chunk. And I really hate it when it's those side managers that they created and now decide to be redundant, my wife has found herself in those positions to often and it can be a bit scary when layoffs hit. But, from the business perspective, its got to be done, just sad to see. Severance packages are nice, but still stressful.

Well, at least there's severance packages. Thing is, with Sony and other Japanese companies, it is almost impossible to fire someone. At least in Japan, so they fire some overseas instead. They have to have a lot of reasons to fire anyone. Sony has the people that worked on the old TVs and they can't fire them, so they have to keep them, when in reality they don't really contribute to the company.

That's quite a chunk taken out of the equation. I used to work for MS, so I know what it's like to have your own division taken out from under you. I didn't take it personally, MS is a great thing to have on your resume; but for me to land my next job, I had to move a couple of hundred miles away. Not everyone will have the luxury, and so all I can say is I wish you the best: especially those with family to take care of.

That sucks. I know how awful it is to not have a steady paycheck. I got laid off in 2008 and it completely derailed my career, maybe permanently. The discrimination of hiring the long term unemployed in NYC is so widespread that they had to make it a law that businesses could not put "unemployed need not apply" on their job postings. Now they just do it behind the curtain.

I like how on MSN, he's cleaning up balmers ( if I spelt his name right ) mess since he left. Very true. If he was so bad, imagine what he's gonna do to the LA Clippers once he owns them. I also heard that layoffs are in all areas not just Nokia employees that was absorbed with the sale. I can't remember but I think they said 1200-1800 was getting axed from there own area in Seattle. Its great they wanna refocus on mobile and the cloud areas, but I hope they don't forget about the Xbox One and all the work still needed for it!

I always take this as an example of the greedy CEOs wanting to keep padding their already bursting pockets. A few job cuts her and a few there allow them to keep the money they have to pay employees to a minimum, and let them keep their end of the year bonuses. Good job Microsoft!

All you people need to realize that this is the way the world works. Microsoft isn't the only one doing this, and it's essential for a company to profit and thrive. But I can tell that with the credentials to work at Microsoft, I'm sure they'll get a job soon enough.

When I read this it didn't sound to bad to me. It suck that 18000 people are losing their jobs and I would be bummed but when you have so many people in a company it's hard to get things done quickly so streamlining the corp. structure sounds like a positive move for the company. Hope all of those people find jobs quickly.

Was laid off three times within a sixteen month time range a few years back. A total shift shutdown, a department shutdown and lastly just plain ole cutbacks. It is extremely hard bouncing back in a short notice after one. Best of luck to all affected.